I can’t believe how nice our summer has been so far and boy is the garden happy! Will is just finishing mulching the whole main garden, all 150×150 feet plus a side L of Hopi Pale Grey squash. That’ll be it for the weeding. I just have to finish thinning about 10 feet of carrot rows and then he’ll be mulching that. Wow, does it look good and the plants are so happy.

All of my honeyberry jam set and we were thrilled with how good it tasted. (Of course I had to pour some out in a cup for us to sample.) Yum — a new favorite!

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Yesterday all three of us went out to the big “pumpkin/corn patch” on the new 40 and weeded seriously. Krystal drove the tractor with the tiller to till up a spot we couldn’t get to because it was way too wet before, as well as the sides of the pumpkin and squash rows. Will and I took turns with the Troybilt and we all took turns with the Mantis, getting between plants and spots the big Horse missed.

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Will and Krystal have been setting in fence posts around the patch so we can get it fenced. The deer have munched here and there, but so far no serious damage. It does help that the patch is surrounded by knee high clover and oats on the north side!

I hilled a long row of potatoes out there. They don’t look as nice as the small patch in the garden but they’ve not been in as long and do look healthy and happy (with a few deer munches out of them).

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While we were working, three deer came out of the woods and started grazing on the clover by the edge of the oat field. They didn’t seem too worried about us and we enjoyed watching them. Luckily, Hondo didn’t try to chase them off. He’s getting much better about that. We’re happy he doesn’t even LOOK at the baby chicks. Of course, mama hens have encouraged good behavior by fluffing up and chasing him with murder in their eyes!

Yesterday was HOT and after working, Will, Krystal, and I put on swimsuits and headed for Lake Leander, five miles away. That cool water sure felt good after we were brave enough to get in all the way. — Jackie

6 COMMENTS

  1. Mary P,

    Yep, I’ve often heard and repeated that saying. But for the first several years here, with a new garden, we laughed because our corn was lucky to be ankle high by the Fourth of July!!! Yet, we always had sweet corn to eat and can. Now it’s so tall….except for the corn/pumpkin patch where the corn is only ankle high; it’s a relatively new patch. Still, we have hope…..

  2. i grew up in southeastern Wyoming and my father always said that the corn needed to be knee-high by the 4th of July if you wanted to have a good harvest. Sounds like you are ahead of the game!

  3. We planted our first honeyberries this spring, and I’m enjoying reading about your experiences with them. I can’t wait to taste my first one.

  4. love so much hearing about your life in Minnesota ~ as a girl growing up in Illinois we looked forward to our yearly trek to Spider Lake (north of Grand Rapids) where my dad would fish to his heart’s content and we kids would have our run of the woods and the lake. A new pair of moccasins was part of the deal and these memories are as present now as they were 60 years ago. Someone mentioned Walleye the other day and I started drooling.

  6. We have had a very few very hot days. Today I have a sweatshirt and jeans on. And it is raining, AGAIN!!

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